The Reasons To Focus On Improving Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect it can cause a lot of grief for you and your entire family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville Birth Defect Lawsuit defect lawyer could help you file a claim to recover compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, so you should seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor can be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine whether your child's illness could be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail identify fetal distress, or fail to respond appropriately. This can cause a number of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the baby's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum - swelling of the scalp. Both of these can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to review your case, and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to help parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence a mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur because of medications. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on foetuses. This is particularly relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

A doctor's responsibility is to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they may be held liable for negligence. Pharma companies can also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers of the risks associated with their medication. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of life. This could include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical costs, as well as aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who have congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the root of the birth defect, so they can sue companies who expose mothers to teratogens as they are at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function, or can cause malformed organs. These chemicals can be present in a variety situations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of companies involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have gotten significant settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family believes the birth defect in their child could be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb pollutants from the environment they could develop serious birth defect attorney defects. Teratogens are the name for these chemicals. Over 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water, and some of them can be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and Birth Defect Lawsuit video displays.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a wide range of birth defects due to improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.